The northern reaches of Little Italy form today’s NoLIta (acronym for North of Little Italy.) Defined on the north by Houston Street, on the east by the Bowery, on the south by Broome, and on the west by Lafayette Street, NoLita is in close proximity to SoHo, Lower East Side, Little Italy and Chinatown. Long considered, at least geographically, a part of Little Italy, the area lost its primarily Italian character due to emigration of Italian-Americans out of Manhattan. The 1990’s brought to the area an explosion of high-end retail venues and trendy restaurants and bars.
